sturgman

This week in reading we looked at God giving the Law to the people of Israel. This verse came to life in a whole new way. I was having church in my living room with a couple other guys from seminary. We were looking at Galatians and the text was dealing with the law in chapter 3, when Paul asks the question, “why then the law?” Before faith came, the law was a tutor or a guardian. This was to show us our need for faith in Christ. It forced us to go back to Exodus 19 where we see God and Moses interacting. They were in relation to each other before the law was given. Israel was given the law not to find justification, this was found through faith, e.g. Abraham. The law was to drive them to their faith, and after faith came, it was to be a means of worship.

This rocked my world. Before Saturday night, I never thanked the Lord for the law. The law had always been a dirty word in comparison to freedom in Christ. But the law for people in a faith covenant with God is still good and applicable. Not as a means of justification or even as a means for sanctification, but the intent was to show them how to worship. Why do we honor our father and mother? It is not because it gets me to heaven, and it is not because it causes me to be a better believer, it is to show me a means to worship God. If it honors God to honor my father and mother, I worship God in that way.

God, thank you for the law, for the revealing of a great avenue for worship. Amen.